THE NIGHTMARE SEQUENCE CANBERRA LAUNCH In conversation with Safdar Ahmed

This work features a conversation between Dr Safdar Ahmed and Dr Bilquis Ghani about Ahmed’s co-authored book, The Nightmare Sequence. This was a public talk event to launch the book, hosted at Smith’s Alternative in Canberra. The Nightmare Sequence is a compilation of poems authored by Omar Sakr and sketches by Ahmed. Together, this creative work presents a powerful critique of the media’s complicity in perpetuating narratives that justify occupation and violence against the Palestinian people. In this conversation, Ghani spoke to Ahmed about the genesis of the book and their own roles in both silencing and speaking up about injustice when we see it. Ahmed speaks to the inspirations and political contexts for some of the key images in the book (re-presented alongside this dialogue). The conversation offers the thinking behind The Nightmare Sequence and all that we can learn from the creative process in speaking truth to power.